The Type Of Meat You Should Absolutely Never Cook In A Non-Stick Pan

Non-stick pans are great for cooking things that you don't want adhering to the cook surface, leaving behind a sticky mess. Eggs, fish, and cheesy foods are the best uses for them, and you might even be inclined to cook your meats on them. However, while this might be acceptable for a chicken breast, you never want to cook a steak on a non-stick pan.

There are a few reasons not to use non-stick cookware for steaks. First, the heat steaks should be cooked at is generally high, between 300 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit, if you're hoping to get the proper sear on the outside of the steak. However, non-stick pans shouldn't be used at those temperatures. Instead, keeping the heat around medium is the safest way to use them, so that no potentially harmful chemicals escape into the air or your food while you cook.

On top of being detrimental to the steak, cooking a steak on a non-stick pan can also spell bad news for the pan itself. A common mistake when cooking in a pan is that most people tend to use metal tools, such as forks or tongs. That said, if you're not careful, you might end up making contact with the pan's surface. With plastic or wooden cookware, this wouldn't be an issue, but metal tools can easily scratch a non-stick pan — both lowering its lifespan and potentially releasing some of those nasty chemicals.

Rather than cooking steaks in a non-stick pan, consider using a more durable option for the job. Not everyone has access to a grill year-round, so using something like a cast-iron pan is a great alternative. Cast iron can be heated to much higher temperatures than non-stick pans, allowing for that perfect sear on your steaks every time without worrying about damaging your cookware.

If you do have a grill, it's hard to argue with the results of a steak cooked over a live flame. Just remember it's important to let them cook slowly so they don't burn on the outside before reaching the desired doneness. Be patient and don't fall for the common steak myth of poking them to determine how cooked they are. A meat thermometer is really the only way to confidently know how well-cooked a steak might be.

Another alternative for cooking steaks is to use the broiler. This will treat the steaks almost like an upside-down grill, using direct heat to cook them with heat coming from the top instead of the bottom. In fact, you can use either a broiler pan to circulate heat around the steak, or a regular pan to sear the bottom without flipping it. Unfortunately, the only issue with this method is that you can't cook steaks that are thicker than 1.5 inches; otherwise, you might burn the outside before the inside is done.